Private equity firm EQT has acquired Osmose Utilities Services from Kohlberg & Company which acquired the company in August 2015.
Osmose is a provider of inspection, maintenance and restoration services for utility and telecom infrastructure. The company’s services include wood pole inspection, treatment and restoration; steel structure inspection and rehabilitation; and structural engineering services. Osmose’s top 50 customers have on average been with the company for more than 40 years.
Osmose is headquartered near Atlanta in Peachtree City, GA and employs more than 3,200 people, including more than 2,600 field employees, across the country. The company was founded in 1934 and is led by CEO Ron Childress (www.osmose.com).
“Osmose is unique among utility services businesses due to its strong infrastructure characteristics and fits perfectly within EQT’s approach of targeting high-quality, stable businesses with transformation potential,” said Erwin Thompson, a partner at EQT. “We have been impressed with the company’s historical growth trajectory and ongoing transformation fueled by a data-based sales strategy.”
EQT invests in medium-sized companies operating in a range of industries in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, China and the US. Sectors of interest include infrastructure; industrials; consumer goods & retail; services; technology, media and telecom; energy; environment; and healthcare. The firm was founded in 1994 in Sweden and has offices in 14 countries across Europe, Asia and North America (www.eqtpartners.com).
“We have enjoyed building a relationship with EQT throughout this process and are confident this partnership will help Osmose achieve continued success in the future,” said Mr. Childress. “We are excited to leverage EQT’s extensive resources as we continue investing in new capabilities and expanding into new markets to accelerate growth. We appreciate the investment and partnership Kohlberg offered throughout their ownership, which positioned us well for long-term success.”
Kohlberg & Company invests in companies in the industrial manufacturing; consumer products; business services; healthcare services; and financial services sectors. The firm concentrates on companies with EBITDAs between $20 million and $100 million where it can invest between $50 million and $200 million of equity. In March 2018, Blackstone acquired a minority equity interest in the firm. Kohlberg & Company was founded in 1987 and is based north of New York City in Mt. Kisco, NY (www.kohlberg.com).
“We have enjoyed our partnership with Ron Childress and the Osmose team, who have uniquely positioned the company as a differentiated market leader with significant growth capabilities and expansion opportunities in the utilities services market,” said Benjamin Mao, a partner at Kohlberg. “We look forward to the continued success of Osmose in partnership with EQT.”
Goldman Sachs & Co. and Harris Williams were the financial advisors to Osmose.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | January 24, 2019